Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

OFFICIAL SALARIES. We take the following from Tuesday's Timet':— "Under the very unattractive title of Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom,' Her Majesty's Government has just printed and issued a return of all the receipts and expenditure of the United Kingdom in respect of individuals as distinguished from imports and exports and also from taxation. For instance, it gives us an account of the receipts from the Ashantee Expedition, the fees brought into the pocket of the Chancellor of the Exchequer through the various public offices, the gross and net receipts of the Income and Property Tax, the income arising out of the Lon- don, Dublin, and Edinburgh Gazettes, the revenues of the woods and forests and of the Post Office, &c. But the most interesting portion of this Blue-book, in the eyes of the British rate and tax payer, will be found in its statements as to the salaries now enjoyed by the officers of the Crown, civil and legal, and the pensions to which they are entitled in respect of past services of themselves or, in some cases, of their an- cestors. For instance, in pages 47-64 will be found a full list of the salaries enjoyed by the Judges of the land and by the rest of our legal staff, from the Lord Chancellor, who sits upon his throne enjoying his £10,000 a year, down to a gentleman who figures as Patent Messenger far South Wales' with his modest annuity of 213 18s. 4d. "Again, on page 38 the annual allowance to each of the members of the Royal Family will be found. Her Majesty (including, of course, her Civil List, the salaries and expenses of the Royal Household, the Royal Bounty and Special Service Fund, &c.) re- ceived in the year March, 1876-March, 1877, the sum of 1:406,709 19s. 9d.; the Prince of Wales, £ 40,000; the Duke of Edinburgh, £ 25,000 the Duke of Connaught and Prince Leopold, each 215,000; the Princess of Wales, R10 000; the Duke of Cambridge, 212,000; the Crown Princess of Prussia, 28,000; the Princess Alice, Princess Helena, Princess Louise, and the Duchess of Cambridge, each 26,000; the Princess Mary of Teck, £ 5,000; the Princess Augusta, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, £ 3,000. Turning to the diplomatic pensions on page 42, we find that Lord Stratford de Redeliffe enjoys an allow- ance of £ 1,786 Lord Cowley and Lord Napier, each £ 1,700 Sir George Hamilton Seymour and Sir James Hudson, each 21,300 while eight or ten other gentle- men are rewarded at about half that figure. The chief pensioners for their own services are the following :—Lord Chancellors, each at t5,000, Lord Chelmsford. Lord Hatherley, and Lord Selbourne Sir William Erie, k3,750 and Sir Samuel Martin, Sir John Byles, Sir Henry Keating, Lord Penzance, and Sir Richard Kindersley, each figure at 23,500. Lord Eycrsley, as ex-Speaker of the House of Com- mons, is down for a pension of £4,000 while three ex- Cabinet Ministers, Sir George Grey, Mr. Spencer Walpole, and Mr. Thomas Milner Gibson, have each AOOO. "But, perhaps the most curious portion of the Blue- book is page 39, which gives us a list of the heriditary pensions-that is, of pensions enjoyed now by indivi- duals on account of their fathers' or their ancestors' naval and military services. The Duke of Marl- borough has 24,000 a year on account of the services of the winner of Blenheim, while a like sum is secured to the present and next Dukes of Wellington, but to no further Duke, on account of Waterloo. In like manner to the title of Lord Rodney there is affixed a pension of either £1,000 or £ 2,000, for this book does not make it quite clear which, in perpetuity, while the present Viscount St. Vincent the third holder of that title, enjoys a _pension of £ 3,000. which, however, dies with him. It appears that the nation in 1806-7 annexed in perpetuity a pension of £.,500 to every Earl Nelson to the end of time while the present Lord Combermere and his son alone will receive the £ 2,000 pension with which his coronet is endowed. Every Lord Exmouth, as long as the title shall last, will draw k2,000 from the nation but Lords Seaton, Napier of Magdala, Keane, Hardinge, Gough, and Raglan, and their next immediate suc- cessors in their respective titles .and no descendants in a further degree will enjoy the same amount respec- tively. The pensions, each of 21,000 enjoyed by Sir W. Fenwick Williams, Sir Henry M. Havelock, and Lady Havelock, and by the widows of Lord Elgin and Mayo, Governors-General of India, are for life only. "The Right Hon. William Beresford, late Secretary of War, draws a salary of £ 83 a year as Keeper of the Tennis Court' at Hampton Court Palace, and the following names still stana as the receivers, as pen- sioners, for loss of Post Fines' :-Sir Thomas Cole- brook, 260 15s.; the Marquis of Salisbury, k4 10s. Sir Edward Halse, 210 4s. 6d. the Duke of Norfolk, £ 56 0s. 2d.; and the Earl of Powis, £ 3 18s. 8d.; while the heirs of the Duke of Schomberg draw 21,798 2s. 10d., and Lord Bath, presumably as one of them, 21,200, and the heirs of William Penn no less than 24,000. It may also astonish the world to find that there are still living old servants of Queen Charlotte to draw 2310 a year, while one of those of George III. draws 210 quarterly. 29,559 yearly goes into the pockets of persons who were put upon their Civil Lists by Kings George IV. and William IV. This book, we may add, bears the signature of Mr. W. H. Smith, M.P., and was ordered to be printed in August, 1877."

AMERICAN HUMOUR. It doesn't do a bit of good to go to a pic-nlc and stand on the river-bank and admire the gorgeous sunset, and talk about the tender beauties of nature to a man, who has just set down on a custard pie. When Englishmen first gaze upon Niagara says an American contemporary, they exclaim. By Jove Wes- tern men say, Thunder." People from the rural districts, "By Jemmeneie!" And the brides-say, "Oh, hold me, Gwarg!" They were at a dinner party, and he remarked that he supposed she was fond of ethnology. She said she was, but she was not very well, and the doctor had told her not to eat anything for desert except oranges. The newly elected president of the Cincinnati School Board said, I would have preferred that this honour had iell on some other member;" and they handed him a grammar forthwith. An Iowa journal speaks of a man having been lynched, "for burning the barn and contests of his son-in- law." Any man who will burn the contents of his son-in-law deserves to be lynched. A Massachusetts paper says that on a gravestone at South Seabrook in that state is the following inscription- "Be she dead-are she gone—is I left here all alone-yes, I s, cruel fate, how unkind to take she and leave I behind. A wicked man killed himself in the lowest level of a Nevada mine, and the account says Thus his alleged soul was saved over half a mile of transportation." Josh Billings, writing from instinct says:—"To avoid all truble ov law suits from heirs and others, i have konkluded to administer upon mi own estate bi spending it az i go along." A person who lately presented his bill to a M.D. was let into the doctor's private office and shown a ghastly skeleton, with the remark—" That man came here just two weeks ago with a bill, and- The person did not stay to hear the rest of the statement. One of the most striking characteristics of woman is her cheerful perseverance in looking under the bed for a man. No man in his senses ever looks under the bed for a woman, but there are millions of women in this country who would find it quite impossible to sleep in any bed under which they had not previously searched for a concealed man. Experience is lost upon them. The average unmarried woman of forty years of age has usually looked under the bed at least 7,500 times, without ever once finding the ex- pected man, but she is not in the least discouraged by so long a course of failure aLd it would be easy to find women of eighty or ninety years who still nightly search for the man whom they have never found. PRESIDENT HATES' GALLANTRY.—The President's gallantry led him to say to the St. Louis lawyereM, when she spoke of being at his inauguration My dear Miss Cozzens, in that case I should have kissed something besides the book." Next morning Mrs. Hayes was surprised, on looking from the window, to see twenty-seven tramps crawl out of the straw at the back of the executive barn and shake them- selves. Then they came to the door and asked what she was going to do about it. They were divorce lawyers.

It is stated that the profits of one music-hall in J.QDd9JJ are £16, year.

THE FUNERAL OF M. THIERS. The following extracts, giving an account of the funeral oi M. Thiers on Saturday Ust--tbe most imposing sight which the Parisians have witnessed for many years—are Jirom the letter of the Paris Correspondent of Th* Trrmi, Under date Sept 9 Pftion, speaking of the Parisians, said onco, It is raining; they won t come." Yesterday morning it was raining, the wind was biting, the air was cold, the streets were muddy; it was just such a dark, dull day as is suit- able for an occasion of deep mourning; and the crowd did come. Paris was there, and behind Paris France; and behind France it might be said all Europe was watching what would happen. The day was, from beginning to end, a solemn, dignified, calm homage, mag- nificent beyond description, and without any of those popular incidents which disquiet the attentive specta- tor. At eight o'clock there was an extraordinary bustle wherever the cwtege was to pass. Workmen in their Sunday clothes, women, old men, children, shivering under the imperfect shelter of their um- brellas, commenced taking up their stand on the edge of the pavement. They had to remain there some four or five hours, and though jostled and soaked, they took it all as a matter of course, and kept their places. At half-past nine most of the streets to be traversed were almost filled, before even any sergeant-de-ville had appeared, and the crowd-that Parisian crowd, so docile when it wishes to be, so rebellious when sought to be coerced—had of its own accord fallen into rank, not exceeding by an inch the edge of the pavement. Msanwhile squadrons of Cavalry were arriving under superior officers in full uniform, and placing them- selves wherever the cortege would have to be protected from the crowd. Sergents-de-ville, conveyed in omni- buses or by squads, were stationed along the route, more numerous at the commencement and at the turnings of the streets, and more scattered in proportion as the cortege would near its destination. At the Elysde the Ministers were sitting en permanence. In some barracks the troops were drawn up. The telegraph clerks of the different Ministries in communication by wire with the Presidency were at their posts, and every quarter of an hour messengers were arriving in the courtyard, bringing news from the scene. At half- past ten the gates of M. Thiers' mansion in the Place St. Georges were opened to the persons invited and provided with cards. Squads of sergents-de-ville, posted in the Rue Lafayette, instructed pedestrians and vehicles as to the route they must take, accord- ing to the cards they exhibited. About this time the hearse appeared before the gate of the hotel. It was a magnificent car, with silver stars glitter- ing on its black cloth, with its massive wheels, its four allegorical figures at the corners, and its sixi et- black horses. But what especially distinguished this car from ordinary hearses was the profusion of flowers, wreaths, and bouquets under which it literally dis- appeared, for every flower and every bouquet was a mark of reverence from a part of i ranee. Around this car, and held at a distance by the sergents-de- ville, the crowd began to draw closer, scarcely leaving to the people specially invited the space necessary to reach tne house. The Place St. Georges and its neighbourhood gave an idea at this moment of the spectacle presently to be presented by the Boulevards. Compact groups of figures filled every window and balcony, and on the roofs, where the fury of the wind and rain made it impossible to hold an umbrella, men and women braved the weather to watch the preparations. At half-past eleven the courtyard, the garden, and the drawing- rooms of the house contained as many as they could hold of those who were to follow the cortige. At this moment, two by two, eight portera, each carry- ing on his shoulder a black staff edged with silver, ,wrea^8 of flowers and immortelles, for which there had not been room on the car, ranged themselves on each side of it. Four other porters, each carrying a cushion bearing M. Thiers' decorations, placed themselves behind the car, then came the ser- vants, and the family. The funeral procession was about to commence. Prince Orloff, the Russian Am- bassador, his head uncovered, was standing in the rain, and only replaced his hat when the coffin was laid on the car. No other chief of the Diplomatic missions being at this moment in Paris, the ChargSs d'Affaires, or First Secretaries of the Embassies and Legations, ranged themselves behind Prince Orloff, who wore the grand chain of the Legion of Honour. The members of the family and the persons invited by them, as also the members of the Institute, fol- lowed, and the funeral car advanced towards the little church of Notre Dame de Lorette. The Senators, ex- Deputies, and different deputations walked behind it the deputation from St. Germain, where M. Thiers died, was allowed to precede the cortige, carrying the enormous tricolor flag of that town. A squadron of Cavalry led off the procession, a funeral band fol- lowed, and soldiers, their muskets lowered, lined the cortege on each side. The number of tickets issued had been limited on account of the narrow dimensions of the church, and those who waited outside till the end of the service were ten times as many 30SI those able to gain admission. The church, though small, is of harmonious proportions, and was admirably decorated. Its walls and pillars were veiled by black drapery spotted with silver. Escutcheons bearing the letter T appeared at intervals; an imposing catafalque, the summit of which rested on four columns with silver capitals, rose from a dais to the roof, its four immense draperies forming a cross, and joining the four corners of the nave. Four statues life size, leaned on the columns, and hundreds of wax lights threw a soft light on the whole congregation. Those who had followed the car entered in the order assigned them, Khalil Pasha joining the members of the Diplomatic Corps present. The whole Left of the Senate and the late Chamber had mustered-Victor Hugo, M. Wadd- ington, the Comte de St. Vallier; all shades of Re- publicans were there, General de Cissey, who does not belong to the Left, and M. Pouyer-Quertier, who is its opponent, had not forgotten that they were among the Ministers of the deceased, and figured among those present. But, with these exceptions, the "Right of the Senate and the Chamber, the Cabinet, and all con- nected with the Government were absent. The church was speedily filled, and there, too, every. body called to mind that it was M. Thiers' Govern. ment which nominated Monsignor Guibert, whose refusal to allow the ceremony to be held at the Madelaine has excited so much comment, a refusal with which the cabinet, it is now certain, had nothing whatever to do. Still it must be admitted that nothing could be more becoming than the service in Notre Dame de Lorette and the demeanour of those who wit- nessed it. The keenest opponents of Clericalism maintained throughout a respectful attitude, com- plying with a readiness full of natural dignity with the postures indicated by the ritual. The service itself was remarkable as regards arrangement and musical execution. It terminated at one o'clock, and the procession set out for the Pere de Lachaise, through the Rue Lepelletier, the Boulevards des Italiens, Montmartre, Boissonniere, Bonnes Nou- velles, St. Denis, and St. Martin, the Place du Chateau d'Eau, Boulevard Voltaire, and Rue de la Roquelle. A veritable surprise awaited those who issued from the church. The rain had ceased. The day had become gloomy, but dry, instead of wet and windy. From the steps of the church toPfere Lachaise all across Paris, a spectacle unfolded itself of the most impressive character. I can give no estimate of the mass of people, who formed an immense rampart as it were along the whole rank, its glaci8 varying in depth from five to sixty yards. Human masses in such pro- portions defy all calculation. The prooession, grand and numerous as it was, was lost in this infinite mul- titude. On turning the angle of any Boulevard one beheld a sea of people, nothing of them visible but their faces, and those turned towards the procession, headed by the moving mass of verdure and flowers, yellow, red, and white, which covered the funeral car. The first question one naturally put, not without some misgiving, was, what will be the behaviour of this fearful human mass, worried, excited, and harassed for months on both sides, and which to-day sees the most popular man in France, its idol for five or six years, interred without official honours; which sees the pall borne by M. Grévy, M. Martel, M. Pouthan, M. de Sacy, and M. Vitry but see no Cabinet Minister, no Aide-de-Camp of the Marshal, no magistrate in his robes, not one of the bodies of State which assume to he the head, the thought, and the soul of the nation? This idea, indeed, must have occurred to every mind, and all must have felt that the slightest impulse given to this crowd, the slightest provocation might lead it burst all bounds, and, like a devastating current, to pour over the terrified city. This apprehension began almost at the departure from the church. At the intersection of the Rue de la Victoire and the Rue Lepelletier, where compact masses were ranged on each side, a loud and prolonged shout of Vive la B^publique 11 greeted the passage of the hearse, but immediately from all parts of the procession proceeded gestures and hushes for silence; and the crowd, incredible as it seems-this palpitating and feverish crowd-was stilled, those who had raised the cheer catching the significance of the silence enjoined upon them, and silencing in their turn those around them. From this moment during the two-and-a-half hours' march the same thing happened, every few minutes cries of Vivela RApublique were attempted, but every time they were hushed down by the multitude itself as well as by the procession. Even the cry of Vive Belfort raised here and there at the sight of the Belfort depu- tation and banner, was repressed in the same way. Occasionally at seeing the Tribune among the last ranks of the ex-Deputies there was a cry of Vive Gambetta but it was quickly restrained. At length we reached the Boulevard Voltaire, where the Faubourg St. Antoine begins. This part of the march was most dreaded. Strange to say, however, in this quarter the crowd, more restless and agitated than on the Boulvards, abstained from any demonstration. The noise was great, the crowd giddy, but cheers were rarer here than elsewhere, until we reached the ex- tremity of the Rue de la Roquette, where a cry of Vive la Ripubluiue ? was raised. In front of Pfere La Chaise the arrangements were admirable. The procession were allowed to Eass, and the crowd, clustered on the neigh- ouring roofs, beyond the wall of soldiers which held it back, raised a shout as the car dis- appeared behind the gates. After passing a little way up the main avenue, the coffin was taken from the hearse, and, followed on foot by the family, who here alighted from their mourning carriages, was borne along a side walk to the vault, an un- pretending structure near Lafitte's tomb, inscribed Famille Dosne-Thiers." All the floral crowns and bouquets were placed upon it; the priest re- cited the last prayers, and five speeches were then delivered, amid a silence occasionally broken by expressions of approval. M. Gr^vy was the first speaker. He referred to M. Thiers' long connexion with the school of Constitutional Monarchy, which threw such lustre on the first half of the century. He thought to find in that system the realization of rational self government, that imperative need of modern peoples, and to transplant into France the English system, forgetting that time had here irre- parably destroyed the social elements on which it was originally founded in England, and that in a Democratic society this tardy importation was an anachronism. Subsequent reflection on eight re- volutions within three-quarters of a century con- vinced him that this instability was due to the inability of a pure Democracy to bear Monarchical Governments, and he patriotically renounced his predilfctloxw and associations. To him the Republic 9 r was principally indebted for gaining the adhesion of France and the belief of Europe that it was a Government of order and peace, and his chief titles to lasting fame and gratitude were the foundation of the Republic and the recovery of Franoe thereby made attainable. "Let us set ourselves," said M. Grtfvy, in conclusion, to shew, like him, that the Republic is a Government of order, peace, and liberty-the only Conservative Government in our country and time, because the only one adapted to our interests and social condition," M. Julea Simon made the longest and the prinoipal address. He remarked that discouragement was the first feeling at such a loss; but M. Thier's life was a lesson never to despair or fall back, and it was summed up in the words inserted in his will in 1870, when vainly traversing Europe to implore pity for France and for itself-" Patriam dilexit, veritatem coluit." Among the other speakers were Admiral Pothuau, ex-Minister of Marine, who dwelt on M. Thiers' efforts for the reorganization of the Army, and remarked that his Presidency over the long and sometimes stormy sittings of the Committee on Military Service last Spring produced in him the first signs of physical fatigue; M. de Sacy, who, on behalf of the Academy, eulogized his conversational powers and private virtues and M. Vuitry, who represented the Academy of Moral Sciences. On leaving Pere La Chaise, Victor Hugo was loudly cheered, the people pressing round the cab so as to im- pede his departure for a minute or two. M. Gambetta left unobserved by a side gate. When I add that along the whole route all the shops were closed; that Paris, the Paris whose formidable voice makes itself heard above the roar of cannon, was mourning the acknowledged leader of the Re- publicans, and that all day among these half a million of men there was not a reprehensible cry, not an act of violence, scarcely an accident, I sum up one of the most memorable days of modern France. What an advance to be made by this population since the time when it was accustomed to unharness the horses, to draw the cart, and to make a popular funeral an object of terror and scandaL The papers of all shades testify to the order which prevailed yesterday; but while the Republican organs attribute it to the good sense of the multitude, the Ministerial Press imputes it to the knowledge of the precautions taken by the Government, and argues that, as a political demonstration, the affair was a failure. All the Government papers do not agree, however, in this view. The Assemblee Nationale says the leaders of the demonstration wished to disguise its aim and tendencies, and were obeyed. "It was an emeute, but a silent emeute; it was an insurrection, but a dumb insurrection; it was a revolution, but a taci- turn revolution."

ADDRESS TO MADAME THIERS. The following address has been sent to Madame Thiers:— Madame,-The members of the bureaux of the Left of the Senate, on behalf of their colleagues, thank you for the courage and patriotism you have shown in the painful ordeal through which we have just passed. Far from rejecting, as some have dared to assert, a mark of national gratitude, you awaited it at the hands of that great city which so admirably represents France, and from those delegates who hastened from all parts to pay a last tribute to the defender of our liberties-to the liberator of our soil-to the ro-organiser of the country. "The population of Paris associated itself with your generous idea by its religious reverence, by its solemn mourn- fulness, and it accorded to M. Thiers the triumph that was most worthy of him it gave the world the memorable spectacle of one million of men collected together, following or saluting on his way to the grave, the great citizen who resigned power as nobly as he had Wielded it. His soul will remain amongst us; his life teaches us moderation, perseverance, and civic duty. It gives us con- fidence that, strong in our right, we shall make the cause of liberty and law, which to us are inseparable, prevail. Permit, Madame, that our gratitude should unite us in our respect and our attachment to the memory of him whose character you so well understood, and whose name you so worthily bore. Deign to receive, Madame, the homage of ourprofound respect."

JAPANESE TRADE COMPETITION WITH ENGLAND. The Birmingham Post says :-The following extract from a letter received by a large manufacturing house in Bir- mingham from its agent in Japan has been sent to us. It is certainly significant as indicating not only that our Japanese trade is threatened by the ingenuity of Japanese workmen, but that we may possibly have to face their com- petition in our own markets:- "Yokohama, July 16,1877.—The Japanese are now making a number of articles which I formerly pur- chased from you, and at prices beyond the possibility of European competition. In fact, quite a number of different classes of merchandise are being made in this country, and Europeans are obliged to discontinue importing in consequence. This may appear some- what strange to you; nevertheless, it is a fact. Bear in mind, Asiatics live as no other races can, and upon food which would not sustain a European house dog. Frugal as badgers, industrious aCbees, they undersell every labour market which they enter, and outdo every civilized artisan at his own trade. Anyone who sees a Japanese carpenter at work, with his toes for a vice, and his thighs and stomach for a bench, has seen tools well used, and goods equal to European turned out. They will, in fact, become formidable rivals of all kinds of Western manufactures. The Japanese are always ready to learn, and to outvie everything that the West does, and this they do with less food, less air, less clothing, and less comfort than any civilized workman. Since I last wrote you I have been offered a large order for your gfoodo, Wt at a price at which Z should loge about 10 per cent.; yet a factory at Osaka has taken the order and is now making the goods." It may be added that in Japan the import duties are only 5 percent, ad valorem on the class of merchandise to which this letter refers.

A WATCHMAKERS' GRIEVANCE. In London, on Monday evening, a meeting of watchmakers was held in the "Crown," Clerkenwell- green, to receive Mr. Geoffrey Benson and Mr. William Eagles, of Liverpool, who came as a deputa- tion to discuss the subject of the practice of hall- marking in England watch cases made abroad, and to consider what steps should be taken to put an end to this practice, the result of which is that foreign- made watches having the English hall mark on their cases are readily sold as English manufac- ture. Considerable correspondence on the subject with the Board of Trade had resulted in a refusal on the part of that official body to bring in a Bill to enforce a declaration as to the place of manufacture of cases sent in for assay. The Board urged that if the mark were refused to foreign cases foreign works might be put into English cases, to whioh the clock- makers replied that the works could not so readily be made for the case as the case for the works. The chair was taken by Mr. Wolfe. Mr. Benson said that within six weeks more than 1,000 watch cases has been sent to England to be hall- marked, and taken back to Switzerland to be fitted with Swiss works, and afterwards sent out for sale as English watches. The object of the deputation was to form a united body, so as to go with full strength before the Legislature to demand a remedy for this grievance. Reports were read of a meeting lately held at Coventry, and some correspondence was read, including a* letter from. Mr. John Bright, who, on being asked to interest himself in the matter,, replied as follows I have read the correspondence you have sent me. The answer given by the Board of Trade is the one which pre- sented itself to my mind when I heard of your grievance, and I am bound to say that I think your reply is not conclu- sive. There is no proof that gold watchcases can be made more cheaply abroad than in England. The material is as dear in one country as in tHe other, whether you speak of Switzerland or America. You say your workmanship is better than that of the foreigner, and if this be true surely you can make watchcases as cheaply as they can be produced abroad. The Board of Trade do not believe that an Act of Parliament would be of any use to you, and I incline to be of the same opinion. To insist on declarations' such as you wish for is not well, unless the grievance is real and important, and the remedy certain. I cannot give any promise as to this matter except this, that I shall be glad to ascertain the truth about it and to give it a full con- sideration, if any Bill on the subject should be introduced into the House of Commons.—I am, respectfully yours, JOHN BRIGHT." Mr. Bennett, secretary to the London Society, ad- dressed the meeting, and was followed by Mr. W. Eagles, the second member of the deputation from Liverpool, who said Liverpool had the advantage of connexion with Mr. Cross and Lord Sandon, whose aid might be expected. What they wanted was to have the British hall-mark converted into a British trade mark, which was only reasonable. Mr. Streeton thought it the duty of all watch case makers to assist on getting this grievance redressed, and moved a reso- lution pledging the meeting to co-operate with Liver- pool and Coventry in the matter. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clarke and passed unanimously.

FEARFUL ACCIDENT IN AMERICA. The Hamburgh American mail steamer has brought details of the terrible disaster in Iowa, on August >30, by which 20 persons were instantly killed and many injured. The accident occurred, at half-past two in the morning, to the Pacific express on the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, at Four Mile Creek. Tremen- dous rain prevailed, and the creek, which in ordinary weather has but little water, is spanned by an arched culvert supported by wooden piles. Irie train con- sisted of an engine, Barnum's advertising car, one luggage car, three coaches, and a sleeping car, and was running at ordinary speed. It approached the culvert, and the engine partially ran across, when there was a sudden crash, and all but the sleeping carriage, which became detached, went down the chasm. Tne engine was thrown against the embank- ment, clear across the opening. Barnum's car, next the engine, was completely demolished, the first coach telescoped the second, and both went half-way through the third, and the three lay with their ends in the water. The telescoping was evidently caused by the elevation of the rear end of each as it pitched over the bank. The sleeping car remained on the track, and the occupants escaped unhurt. Twenty persons were killed outright, and a large number were wounded. Several bodies floated down the stream, as the water in the channel was very deep.

HOLOGRAPH TESTAMENTS. The Gazette des Tribunaux has just reported a curious will case, in which the oqjirts^were'called upon to de- cide how far a pair of scissors can be made available in executing the wishes of a testator. A gentleman of con- siderable property, but of somewhat changeable mind, had made two wills in two successive years, and each of these instruments was what is called a holograph tes- tament. That is to say, according to the definition given in the Code, it was written from beginning to end, dated, and signed by the testator with his own hand. There was no doubt that each of the two papers thus purporting to be a will satisfied the strict letter of the definition given by the Code. But the latter of them, under which the wife was made universal, or, as we should say, residuary legatee, had been treated in a very peculiar way by its author at some time after the date of its execution. The paper upon which it was written being an ordinary sheet of large note-jmper, the will had originally filled the whole face of it and about one-half of the back. At the bottom of what was thus the first page were a large number of specific bequests, and on the top of page twe was the residuary gift to the wife. This being the case, the testator had at some time unknown taken a pair of scissors and cut off the lower part of the paper, which contained on one of its sides the bequests above mentioned, and on the reverse side wa,3 blank; and in performing the operation he had cut in half one of the sentences, leaving it unfinished and unintelligible. The next of kin accordingly impeached the second will as invalid, and argued that the laceration it had undergone was sufficient to annul the acte.' The local tribunal adopted the same view, and refusing to recognise the paper thus mutilated as a holograph instrument, rejected it altogether and disinherited the wife. The Appeal Court at Paris has now pronounced an altogether different decision. Adopting the rule which we follow in England, of giving effect as far as possible to a testator's wishes, it has held the testament valid, and rejected only the unfinished or incomplete sentence. The result is that the wife gets the property, and the other relations, besides having to pay all the costs, find themselves cut off-not with a shilling, but with a pair of scissors. -Globe.

A JOURNALISTIC OUTFIT. The special correspondent of the Paris Temps com- municates to his paper the following list of articles with which war correspondents accompanying the Russian army in Asia must be supplied :—1. A pass- port from the general Staff, with which, immediately upon his arrival, the correspondent has to present himself to the Chief of the Corps or detachment which he means to accompany. By means of it he is, for instance, to have each telegram and letter acknow- ledged by the general Staff. 2. A number of photo- graphs of himself for the chiefs of the different corps and detachments. One of them he is to keep, in doubtful cases as to his identity, to compare with the rest. 3. An emblem in the form of a shield, in the dentre of which the letter K is affixed to a black and yellow ribbon. This mark is worn in the button-hole, to serve as a passport that he may walk about without being molested. 4. A "Padorojna," or march route of the Government, whereby the cor- respondent may secure post-horses at each relay, except in cases ef vis major. 5. An "Atkoiti List," entitling him to an escort, he being obliged to have with him a Cossack or Tshapar for safety's sake. 6. A private servant, versed, if possible, in several languages. 7. A double-barrelled gun, for casual hunting, the right barrel for shot, while the left is rifled, adapted to the shooting of balls, also a revolver and a dirk-knife. 8. A European saddle for himself and one for his servant, with bridle and bit. 9. A tent with a Persian carpet and hammock. 10. A" bonr. donk," with at least six "tunks" of cachetic wine. "Bourdonk" is a sort of canteen made out of the whole skin of a hog, or the hide of a ram or ox, retain- ing the shape of the animal. A tunk" holds five bottles. 11. A large pair of saddle-bags full of pro- visions, preserves, tea, sugar, cognac, &c., &c., tin plates, table-set, and everything required to sustain life in a perfectly wild country; cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco. 12. Quinine and extract of genti. 13. A very handy portfolio with writing ma- terial. 14. As little baggage for himself as pos- sible a warm overcoat and blanket are indispensable in the mountains and at night, 15. A black suit of clothes, vest, pantaloons, white cravat, light-coloured gloves, and a hat for wear and tear. 16. A number of articles impossible to be mentioned. 17. Money.- Russian half-imperials, Turkish medschidjes, which are twenty-franc pieces; the Russian paper money, if possible, must be of recent date, being better current. The Russian army passes gold com. The correspondent is also to be supplied with a goodly quantity of Russian silver change. He is to find room for all of the articles mentioned in a telega, i c., a vehicle used in that part of the world. The most essential is not to be forgotten, which, strange to say, is Persian insect powder.

TURNING THE TABLES. SCENE Platform of the Charing Cross Railway Station.—DRAMATIS Two of Messrs. W. H. SMITH & SON'S Newsboys, and a JOCULAR PERSON who is waiting for a train. First Newsboy (to Jocular Person). Here y'are, sir evenin' paper, sir t Letter from Mr. GLADSTONE, sir! Buy the evenin' paper, sir ? Jocular Person (thinking he sees his way to a bit of fun). No, thank you, my boy; I have no occasion for the evening paper. (Pause.) I AM Mr. GLADSTONE! [Sensation, during which First Newsboy retreats, and holds whispered conference behind bookstall with News- boy Number Two, who presently advances, carrying a book he has taken off the stall. Second Newsboy (to Jocular Person). Here y'are, 8;r Buy Sloper on the Eastern Question," sir ? (Pause.) I S'POSE YOU'RE NOT ALLY SLOPER AS WELL, ARE YOU ? [Jocular Person retires, rather sorry that he has S'Pok.e)t. ]-Judy.

AN UNTIMELY END. The melancholy death of Captain Cunard, of the 10th Royal Hussars, when engaged in a game of Polo, has caused Universal grief among his military and other friends, whose name is legion.—In alluding to the event, The Whitehall Review says, I have received the following d propos of the shocklag death of Captain Canard :— Sad news from Shomeliffe This sentence will find an echo in many a house and heart where poor Edward*-Gtibiurd wkS known and loved. The scene at Shorncliffe Camp last Wednesday was terrible beyond description. One moment he was riding bright and happy and cheery as ever the next, lying on the ground, a helpless form, with fractured skull, bleeding to death. Willing hands, loving hearts, were not wanting to go to his help, and medical aid was given as soon as he fell; but, alas no love, no human help could avail, and he was carried to Colonel Sturt's hilt in camp, never to speak or move again. To know him was to love him, and his untimely fate has cast a widespread gloom over his regiment and society in general. Clever, handsome, rich, beloved, he had all this world could give him. With a kind word for all, a helping, almost too generous hand, a power of intense sympathy with all with whom he came in contact, no wonder that he was universally beloved and respected The last tribute to his memory which his numerous friends can give is to act up to his earnest words of tender advice, and by their lives to follow his bright example. Of the misery which his death has caused his family I dare not write, except to express the most intense sympathy with them. Edward Cunard is safe and happy now, and this small tribute to his memoiy is written by one who saw his death, and who laments him, as does everyone who knew him.

lllisrellimMots 1tttIligtntt. HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL. LIVERPOOL EMIGRATION RETURNS.—The returns for August made up at the Government Emigration Office, Liverpool, show that during the month of Office, Liverpool, show that during the month of August, 7,266 persons sailed from the Mersey for foreign countries. Of these 5,745 proceeded to the United States, 1,210 to British North America, 48 to Australia, 102 to South America, 80 to the East Indies, 17 to the West Indies, 36 to China, and 30 to the West Coast of Africa. The nationalities of the emigrants were—English, 4,873 Scotch, 66; Irish, 589 foreign, 1,428 and 319 were not distinguished. The returns show a decrease compared with August, 1876, when the number of emigrants were 7,970. EPITAPH TO OLD LONG HOURS I-Mr. C. Gething, a miner, speaking at a recent meeting of local miners at Walsall, said he hoped the attention of the working miners would no longer be distracted by the question of hours, but that they might henceforth be able to concentrate all their powers on the work itself, so as to make it profitable both to masters and men. Believing that the question of long hours Was laid," to use a word suggested by the talk he used to hear about laying ghosts, he had written its epitaph, and here it was Beneath this stone lies old Long Hours, Who drainod the miners vital powers, And was by Union slain. Never may he revive again, Never be seen alive again, But ever here remain. (Laughter and applause.) RAILWAY LIGHTING. Viator writes to The Times I have recently returned from Germany, where I have been much impressed with the excellent system adopted by many of the railway companies for lighting their trains by oil gas. The light is so steady and agreeable for reading purposes that I am surprised it has not long before this been introduced upon our lines. I do not understand the details* of the system, which, I understand, is the invention of a gas engineer at Berlin, but I do know that two small cylinders placed under each carriage contain a sufficient supply of gas to burn 24 or 30 hours. Travelling from Calais to Berlin in a carriage lighted by this gas is somewhat different from a journey in one of our compartments, where, in addition to a bad light, the passenger fre- quently suffers the annoyance of oil droppings from the lamp and an odour anything but pleasant." THE PONTYPRIDD COLLIERS.-The Times has pub- lished the following letter:— Sir,—I am sorry that to much time has gone by before thanking the public for the rewards presented to me-that is, the £50 from the Telegra,ph Fund, the 480 from the Mansion-house Fund, and beloved and gracious Queen for the Albert Medal, and Major Duncan for the medal of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and'the Members of Parlia- ment for the valuable watch and chain, and last, but not least, the Bible Society for the handsome Bible. Among other causes that prevented me from writing before, one is, I was rather badly burnt while trying the gas at Ynyshin Colliery, in company with Happy Dodd; but, thank God, I am all right again. In conclusion I beg to say that as long as I live, I will look on my rewards with great pride and feel very thankful for the liberality and good opinion of the British public for I consider that none of us deserved so much as we received, because we did our duty, as every man ought to do. Thanking you if you will please put this in The Times, I am, sir, yours obediently, JOHN WILLIAM HOWELLS, Cymner, near Pontypridd, Sept. 6 A DUEL IN DELAWARE.—A duel, which ended in the death of both combatants, has taken place at Wilmington, Delaware. It arose out of a paragraph in a paper burlesquing a younger brother of a youth named Youngs himself'only lS years of age. Having demanded satisfaction of the editor, Mr. Brown, who instead of giving it knocked him down, a challenge to mortal combat with pistols was immediately given by Young and accepted by Brown. The combatants were placed on each side of a railway track. When they approached the rails the order was given to fire. At the first discharge the ball from Young's revolver entered Brown's breast, and that from the latter's re. volver the lower part of Young's abdomen. Brown continued firing at his antagonist, but Young, finding his revolver did not revolve, closed with Brown, when both fell, and began pummelling each other with their pistols. The seconds them interfered and separated the men. They were laid out on the railway platform, both in a dying condition. Young, while in that dtate, cursed his adversary, who died a few minutes later. The former lingered until next day in great agony. I '4;< t' *'• A SHOUTING CISTON.-One of the correspoiidents of the Daily Telegraph, writing from the camp of Mehemet Ali says:—Last night there was great shouting in the camp. and I hear several correspondents who are now at Eski Saghra thought it was joy at the occupation of Tirnova by the Turks. It was however, only a renewal of the eustom the troops had got into in Montenegro of shouting ta each other. This custom the Marshal Meheaaet Ali is very partial to, as he says it conduees greatly towards the keeping up of good spirits ameng the men. He told us that often in Montenegro when it was wet and celd, and the men were all huddled together and getting into very low spirits, this shouting was set going, and one battalion shouting to another along the sides of the hills, together with their re-echeing sounds, made such a noise that it would be heard for miles, and had the double effect of raising the men's spirits by breaking the monotony of their unpleasant state, and also some- what damped the ardour of any enemy who might be in hearing and who naturally formed an exaggerated idea of their numbers. TRADE PROSPECTS IN AMERICA.—The New York Times of the 22nd of August publishes a number of reports by business men respecting the prospects of trade this autumn, and commenting on these reports ill its editorial columns, says:—It will be seen that the outlook is, on the whole, encouraging. There is no general elation, and no expectation of the sudden return of large business and great profits, but there is an almost universal anticipation that a healthy business will be done; that reasonable gains will be possible, and that the improvement will be steady and enduring. This view is based on a comparison of trade actually done in the principal lines with that which was done a year ago, and there is no room for doubt that substantial progress has been made. THE SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.—A parliamentary return has been issued of the number of hours which the House of Commons has sat after midnight in each year since the half-past twelve o'clock rule has been in force, and in each of the six years be- fore the making of that rule. This shows that in the six years since the half-past twelve rule was passed the House has actually sat 52 hours longer than it did in the corresponding period before that time. A BRAVE TURKISH GENERAL.—A Correspondent of The Times writing from the Shipka Pass, says :—I have not come across one Turkish General with the quality we call dash. Cool courage, however, cannot be denied them in some instances, notably in the case of Red jib Pasha, who commands the 3rd Division. Lying in safety myself under the protection of the breastwork of the Peak battery, I have seen this young General standing up completely exposed, with the shells con- tinually bursting within a few feet of him and a shower of stones flying about his head. I could not detect the slightest change of feature in his face, and anybody who knows what it is to face a well-directed shell tire when the enemy have got the exact range will appre- ciate this. The bravest can rarely help wincing, while many by no means cowards instinctively croucn down. But he was setting an excellent example to the gunners, and in this was displaying the highest heriosm that war produces. Of a man like this, and one whose education has extended to speaking French, one naturally hopes something, but the vis inertice of his Turkish breeding will probably be too strong. After 30 or 35 it is rare to find any Turk who is not apathetic and indolent. How TO SAVE COAL.-The Sanitary Record pub- lishes the following letter Sir,-As the supply of coal is limited, and the consumption increasing, its economy is of prime importance. The waste in domestic fireplaces In the shape of smoke and misdirected heat varies from 60 to 80 per cent. in many cases, while the discomfort of smoky rooms, bad cookery, and draughts, drives many to seek in public-houses a costly alternative. It is well known that bottom-fed fires consume, while top-fed fires create smoke. The difficulty has now been how to feed domestic fires at the bottom. A slight alteration in the front bars is all that is necessary. If one or two of the lower bars are movable, the hot cpal may be lifted up till the fire is replenished below. The bottom of the fire-box could easily be covered with a piece of sheet iron, to prevent slack from falling before it is consumed, and a narrow slit or a damper would provide egress for the thoroughly-consumed ashes A receptacle at the fire back would utilise much of the heat wasted on bricks, and might be fitted with utensils for warm water, stewing, etc., without a separate fire under the oven. Constant dropping wears away stones, and constant waste in trifles means much in the long run.-BY. FLETCHER. -4, Hanging Ditch, Manchester. SUNDAY BANDS IN THE LONDON PARKS. The twenty-second season in the Regent's Park, which is under the management of the National Sunday League, closed on Sunday, having had the extraordi- nary fortune of playing without interruption by rain throughout-i. e. from Whitsunday-17 consecutive Sundays. The audiences have been great, and again the committee reports that the most exemplary order has been maintained. Her Majesty's Chief Com- missioner of Works states that while no one complaint has reached him from the residents of the surrounding terraces, he has received many expressions of approval. BRITISH TRADE.—The Board of Trade returns for August, are not quite so favourable as i» the pre- ceding month, both exports and imports again show- ing in value a decline. The imports for the month are valued at £31,944,411, as against R33,816,802 in August last year, although for the eight months of this year they amounted to 2264,293,634, as against 2251,547,806 in the corresponding period last year. The exports last month are set down at 917,744,662, as against 217,962 884 in August last year; whilst for the last eight months they amount to C130,568,093, as against 2133,257,530 last year. As regards the articles exported, we observe an increase for the month in cotton, woollen, linen, and silk manufactures, habere dashery, hardware, oil, paper, telegraph wires, &c., whilst there is a considerable decrease in both the quality and value of iron and steel manufactures ex- ported!, and some decline in coal and machinery. The diminution in the imports arises mainly through less quantities of tea, raw cotton, rum and brandy, wine, &c. A CANNON REVOLVER.—Is it known to our War Office that the French Government has just adopted a very formidable gun caJled a cannon-revolver ? The peculiarity of this arm consists in its capability of thrQwinjr80 shells per minute of rather more than lib. each, which break up into 24 fragments. The cannon- revolver can be brought into action and the range de- termined with great rapidity, and when once sighted it can ,,be worked without the slightest'Recoil and traversed by pivot action. Its destructive effects can thus be brought to bear on troops either in column or deployed. It commences to be effective at the tremendous range of over 3,000' yards. The first de- livery of this formidable arm to the French Govern- ment is principally for the use of the Navy. The guiis are fired from and resting on the bulwarks, and are in- tended for torpedo-boat searching in this form the weight of the piece is only about 7001b., but as field pieces the additional gear required brings them up to about 1,6001b. Two men only are required to move the gun itself. It is considered to be a most formidable weapon, and attention should at once be given to so important a subject by the English War Office.- Whitehall Review. "LoOK AT THE MOON !The Standard's Special Correspondent at the Turkish head-quarters writes The eclipse of the moon, which took place on Thursday night about midnight, was the cause of an alarm which, regarding the state of the times, was excusable. I had just retired for the night, when the sound of distant musketry firing caused me to get up and prepare for some serious event. Having dressed as rapidly as possible and strapped on my revolver, I started off with my boy Isaac towards the quarter of the town where my eonfrires were lodging, in order to concert further action with them. Going along the street I noticed to the boy that it had got very dark and looked like rain: this caused him to look up, and he imme- diately exclaimed, Jtegardez la hine For the moment I had forgotten the eclipse, and then I remembered having read that in some parts of Turkey the people always turned out to fire at the moon on these occasions. I was not long in getting back to my lodging, where I discovered my worthy Bulgar landlord indulging in a quiet laugh at my expense. Next morning I found that the same idea had struck all of us who were here that there was either a Turkish or Bul- garian massacre coming on, and that we ran a very poor chance in any case. BICYCLE CONTEST AT THE ALEXANDRA PARK.— Under the auspices of the Stanley Bicycle Club, of which Sir Sydney H. Waterlow, M.P., is president, the second annual race meeting was held on Saturday at the Alexandra Park. The meeting was an unusually large one, there being, in addition to the members of the club itself, nearly sixty riders entered for com- petition in the Two Mile open event. The races com- menced with a One Mile Club Handicap, for which there were 17 entries, and in which the ground was covered by the winner in 3min. 20sec. A Four Mile Handicap followed, the first heat of which was done by the winner in 15min. 3sec., the second heat in 14min. 35sec., the third heat in ISmin. 23sec., and the fourth in 14min. 53sec. Then came the Two Mile Open Handicap, for which there were seven heats, the shortest time being taken by the winners of fourth and fifth heats, viz., 6minl8sec. In the final heat for the Four Mile Club Race the winner performed his task in 13mm. 51sec., and in that for tne Two Mile Open Handicap the winner reached his goal in 6min. lasee. At the conclusion of the race 3 the president delivered to the successful competitors the prizes, consisting of silver cups, in value ranging from twelve guineas to one guinea. A SUCCESSFUL CAREER.—Mr. William Schaw- Lindsay, who recently died, was one of the most noted examplars of the virtue of self-help whom Mr. Smiles could wish to find (remarks the Court Journal). He was born in Ayr sixty-one years ago. At fifteen he left his home with only a few shillings in his pocket to go to sea, and worked his passage to Liverpool by trimming coals in a steamer. He had not a single friend in that port, and for seven weeks he was utterly destitute. At last he obtained employment as a cabin boy on board a West Indiaman. He underwent many hardships, but bore them so well, and performed his duties so satisfactorily, that by the time he was eighteen he was made second mate; a year later he became chief mate and before he had completed his nineteenth year he was appointed to the command of a merchantman. One would have thought that after such remarkable success Lindsay would have felt that a seafaring life was the one of all others destined for him. Yet in 1837, before he was of age, he left the sea, and four years later was appointed agent for the Castle Eden Coal Company, in which capacity he was mainly instrumental in getting Hartlepool made an independent dock, and he rendered great assistance in establishing its docks and wharves. He was returned to Parliament for Tynemouth, and his subsequent career was one of distinction and of affluence. WHICH IS RICHEST, MORNING'S OR EVENINGiS MILK ?-This subject has now been put to the test. of chemical analysis, and the result is that the evening's milk is found to be the richer. Professor Boedeker analysed the milk of a healthy cow at different periods of the day. The professor found that the solids of the evening's milk (13 per cent.) exceeded those of the morning's milk (10 per cent.); while the water con- tained in the fluid was diminished from 89 per cent. to 86 per cent. The fatty matter gradually increases as the day progresses. In the morning it amounts to 2i per cent., at noon 3 £ percent., and in the evening 5| per cent. The practical importance of this discovery is at once apparent; it develops the fact that while 16 oz. of morning's milk will yield but £ oz. of butter, about double the quantity can be obtained from the evening's milk. The casein is also increased in the evening's milk from 2Jto2| per cent., but the albu- men is diminished from 44-100ths per cent. to 31-100ths per cent. Sugar is least abundant at midnight (4Jperj cent.) and most plenty at noon (4f per cent.) Thei percentage of the salt undergoes almost no change at any time of the day.—Canada Globe, BUILBINO SdeiETiES.—^t the! appropriation meet- ing of the Chatham District 200th Star-Bowkett Building Society held in June last the registered number of a little child was drawn, and the Board hesitated as to what was to be done with the appro- priation, since it is necessary before its sale can be completed-that a transfer of the share should be signed by the owner, which in this case was of ooorse im- praetieable. Under tho advice of tho secretary (Mr. Bryant) a friendly dispute was raised between the father of the child and the Board of Management, the former claiming to sell his child's share, the latter doubting his power, and the matter was brought before the Registrar of Buil li-i Societies, under the 34th section of 37 and 38 Vict., c. 42. A few days since the Registrar's award was received. The Re. gistrar decided that the father, ss the guardian of his child, could, under rule 16, dispose of the appropria- tion on behalf and for the benefit of the child. HARVEST BUGS.—An effective means of allaying the irritation caused by these little pests, and which has been found to answer admirably is as follows :— Cut a lemon in half, and, taking one piece up with the hand, rub the juice well over the part or parts affected, and continue the process whenever there is any feeling of irritation. It will be found that this is conducive to considerable ease, and very soon the ap- pearances caused by the insect vanish, and tranquility is restored to the sufferer. -Hardwickt's Science Gossip. A PUZZLE.—The Mark Lane Express gives the fol. lowing :—" Sir, -A farmer hires a farm on an eight years' lease during the first four years he can farm as he likes, but during the last four years he must not have two white straw crops in succession. Does he break his covenant by having a white crop the fifth year after one in the fourth year?—I am, &c., OLD TOWLER. -[The tenant who grows a white straw erop in the fifth year, in succession to one in the fourth, cannot be said to grow two white straw crops in suc- cession within the last four years.—ED.] WHIST IF NEW ZEALAND.—Etymologists teach us that pecunia was derived feom pecus, in days when patriarchs iuled and flocks and herds were the staple of wealth. The agep of the world reproduce them- selves. A friend of mine was recently up country in New Zealand, on a trip round the Globe. He stopped for a night at a squatter's hut, and was asked to cut in for a rubber of whist. Taking his seat he casually asked, What points ? Said his partner in surprise —not knowing but that he was addressing some neigh- bouring squatter newly established—"Why! the usual gaiine, of course; sheep points and a bullock on the rubber. "-WAitehall Review. ST. PARTRIDGE.—It seems to generally agreed- and, indeed, one need not go any farther than the poulterers' windows for confirmation of the fact—that, in the majority of counties, partridges were very small on the 1st of September, and that it would be on the whole far better if St. Partridge should become in England, as it is in other countries, a moveable feast. Nine years out of ten the 1st of September is too early: either the corn is not cut and carried, or the birds are far too small to be shot at. Of course it will be < bjected that" they do it in Fronce," where the ouverture is set- tled by the authorities for the different zones each according to the state of the birds and the crops and it is well known that sport is one of the things it can never be admitted that they manage better in France. But it may be pointed out that it is not long ago since the date of blackcock shooting was changed from the 12th of August to the 1st of September so that at all events, if a moveable fea3t cannot be managed, it might be at least possible to defer the 1st" until the 12th," a change which would, I fancy, be heartily welcomed by all really worthy of the name of sports- raen.-The World. A MARCH OF SCIENCE. A FACT.—A reminiscence of the 25th ultimo. First Passenger.—I hear there is to be an eclipse to-night, and I should very much like to see it. Second Passenger.—I beg your pardon, you can't see it at all here—according to the papers it is visible at Greenwich, but it does not say anywhere else, and we are some distance from there !-Judy. THE BROTHER BORN TO ADVERSITY.—The Con- stantinople Correspondent of The Standard writes:- To-day is the anniversary of the Sultan's accession to the throne. It has been celebrated by the usual waste of powder. Had I been the Sultan I should have clothed myself in sack- cloth and ashes, and have implored Heaven to forgive me the unknown sins which had procured for me such an inheri- tance of toil and trouble and anxiety. Long, long ago I was acquainted with a little book, whereof the title was The Brother Born to Adversity." I never thought to see him in the flesh; but now, whenever I see the Sultan Abdul Hamid, pale, worn, and anxious, and bowed down under the weight of Mourad's robes, I say to myself, Behold the Brother Born to Adversity EGGS AND THE BRITISH HOUSEKEEPER.—Last year the value of the eggs imported into England was £ 2,610,231, but even this large importation failed to satisfy our requirements, and the high price of eggs in the market at the present time shows that we could buy more and eat more if we could only get them. It seems probable that substantial help in this as in other matters relating to food supply will come from the other side of the Atlantic. Canada is establishing an egg trade with us which promises to assume important dimensions. Last week one steamer alone brought to Liverpool from Canada 280 barrels of eggs, and there is every prospect of a continuous stream of eggs setting in from that country. The Canadians cannot, in fact, keep up with their hens, who lay more eggs than tlle colony can consume. The market report of the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator of the 9th of August mentions that eggs were very quiet there being really no whole- sale trade in them at present. In Ottawa fresh eggs were selling at 12 cents, that is sixpence, a dozen. Eggs at this price would be a boon to the British housekeeper, and might take the place of meat, in which case there would be less grumbling and gout.— Pall Mall Gazette. THE PRICE OF WHEAT.—It will be interesting to nete the actual course of prices since last year the Gazette average was 45s. lid. at the beginning of Sept., 1876 six months afterwards it was 50s. lid. it has since been as high as 68s. 9d. on the 18th of May, and has subsequently suffered a gradual drop(.until now it is 628.. per quarter, and possibly the recent rains may have so deteriorated the value of the new grain that the average is kept down at the moment, because of the comparative scarcity of wheats in fine condition on the market. It appears that at Paris wheat for November delivery is quoted 6d. per quarter lower than the actual price and similarly at Hamburg the future price is Is. per quarter lower also. But all this does not reduce the cost of our wheat supply this half- year to anything like so low an average as the country was favoured with in the latter part of 1876, and it ia a statistical fact that the market value of money tends to follow the market value of corn .—Economist. THE MAN WITH THE SMALL BAG.—Bad workmen are proverbially apt to find fault with their tools, and it may with equal truth be said that bad sportsmen complain of their game (remarks the Mark Lane Ex- press). Thus we are told this year that the partridges, although uncommonly numerous, are wonderfully wild. No sooner," says the man with the small bag, do you go in at one side of a field of turnips than all the birds fly out at the other side." Yes but if the sportsman had held straight some of the birds would probably have been unable to fly out. Throw your heart over," is the horsey man's sarcastic advice te the nervous rider whose horse persistently refuses a jump; and Throw your gun at it, sir," I have heard addressed to a bad shot. No one can say why the birds are so unusually wild this season. They may be, but I confess I want to hear the accusation from the mouth of a good shot before I am convinced. People without guns can get close enough to the numerous and large coveys. THB USB OF THE LANCE.—The Pall Matt Gazette remarks that the Russian lancer has a peculiar way of holding and using his lance In other European, armies a mounted lancer seizes his lance at the level of his hip; and, consequently, supporting the butt under his arm, has about two-thirds of the weapon in front of his hand; this latter directing the point, the arm and shoulder supporting the shock. The Russian lancer, on the contrary, when about to use his weapon. takes hold of the middle of the staff; so that, the butt being under his arm, he has but half its length in front of his hand. By this means he has un- doubtedly more command over his lance, since hie hand, grasping it at its centre of gravity, can direct the point with greater accuracy and also contribute more effectually towards resisting the shock. On the other hand, the weapon thus held loses much of the superiority which it otherwise derives from its length, the lance-points of a Russian lancer regiment when charging projecting but very little beyond the nosee of the horses. This is also due partly to the fact that the Russian lance is shorter than that carried in other armies, being only 2.74 metres in length whereas in the German army it is 3.14 metres, ana in the Italian 2.95 metres long. A WALTZING BiRa.-The Kingston Freeman has the following story about a bird in the collection of a dealer in that city :-This bird is a bobolink, jand, it seems, took as naturally to dancing as a country maiden at an apple bee. He is a very sprightly bird and though his owner knew he was something more than an ordinary bird, he had no idea that he could waltz until one day, while whistling a German tune, the bird suddenly cocked his head to one side, and with a knowing look and a lively "Bobolink, bobo- link, spink, spank, spink," commenced to waltz, taking a regular step of "one, two, three," as though he had in his mind's eye even the artistic rules of we dancing-master. His evolutions were very graceful, the whirl each time being made off the perch, ag it were, only his toes touching as he twirled himself completely round. This is good illustration that our American birds are fully as wise as those in the old country, if not more so, for this one at least had never been taught as the German birds are. The dancing bird is moulting now, but when he again recovers the elasticity and vigour of his body, he will no doubt, give some new. exhibition of terpsichorean skill. A PEDESTRIAN FEAT.On Saturday evening, at Hsddersfield, at twelve minutes and a half past five, Arthur G. Marsland, of High Flatts, near Denby Dale, completed the feat of walking 100 miles in leq than 24 heurs-namely, 23 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds, or 47 minutes 30 seconds under the time in which he had undertaken to accomplish the journey. Marsland, who is 20 years old, was formerly a letter- carrier at the Huddersfield Post-office, but Is now em. ployed on a farm, and he undertook to walk the 100 mites in 24 hours simply to show that be could do it, and not because there was any bet on tjie result. He started at six o'clock on Friday night, on,the Athletic Field, at Paddoek, Huddersti.eld-not the most.de. sirable place that could have been chosen. He covered the first six miles in 1 hour 6 minutes 35 seconds, and his quickest pace in that hour was in the last two miles, which he walked in 10 minutes 55 seconds each. The seventh mile he walked in five seconds under that; the eighth in 11 minutes § seconds, and the ninth in 10 minutes 30 seconds—the quickest mile he did in the whole journey, b 1G hours and 48 minutes he had covered 72 miles. During tbe last few miles he had walked in great pain, owing to the sinew? of his right leg having become strained and caused the leg to swell, Up to this point he had walked in one direction only, and after being rubbed and partaken of refreshments in the tent, where he stayed for about 42 minutes, he resumed his task and completed 84 miles at the end of 19 hours, 10 minutes and 30 seconds. After another rest of 25 minutes he started again, and never left the course nor altered his direction to the end of the journey. He seemed very little fatigued, but complained of pain in the right kg. Marsland is 5ft; 4in. in height and weighs about 9 stone,